Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 6 February 2013
99. Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the amount of money held on deposit or in short-term bank investments by each Government or State agency or body under his Department's remit; the rate of interest at which the deposits are held; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6340/13]
View answerIn response to the Deputy’s question deposits (including the Exchequer Account) held at the Central Bank earn interest at the Euro OverNight Index Average (EONIA) rate which is the overnight rate calculated by the ECB.
Moneys in the National Lottery Fund are transferred into the Exchequer on a regular basis and a significant proportion of the amount held in the fund, currently of the order of €75m, will shortly be transferred into the Exchequer, with the bulk of the balance required to be available to meet prizes as they arise.
The balance in the State Property (Miscellaneous Deposits) Account is approximately €2.5m. The funds in this account are held by the Minister as a quasi trustee on behalf of parties who may be entitled under the relevant provisions of the State Property Act, 1954 and the Companies Acts.
The Economic and Social Research Institute and the Institute of Public Administration are also part funded by my Department but both operate autonomously.
Funding for the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) is requested one quarter in advance from the Department in order to make payments to PEACE III and INTERREG IVA projects and to cover SEUPB administration costs. These cash balances are short term and cleared each quarter end. Interest earned is between 0.35% and 0.4% respectively and repayable to the Department on a quarterly basis.
